29 March - Internet Safety

What?
The topic of teaching students about cyber ethics, being safe on the internet, how to prevent/stop cyber bullying, etc.


So What?
As I see the influence that technology has, I become more and more concerned with how impersonal it can seem.  Typing on a computer or texting on a phone is not the same thing as talking to someone in person.  There are definite advantages to being able to communicate via these devices, but I feel that today's students are sometimes not fully appreciating the dangers also associated with their favorite social networking site or how damaging one not thought out text or picture can be.  It is well known that teens think they are invincible.  This has generally been applied to the physical risks teenagers are more apt to take, or that they seem unaware of.  I think this imagined invincibility can also be applied to their actions or inactions in regards to internet safety.  They can take the attitude that bad things happen to other people, not to them.  This of course is not the case and learning this lesson can be a very painful process.

Now What?
As a teacher I want to help students become aware of the consequences associated with their actions.  The campaign I am designing for this class is a great start.  I hope to take these materials as a starting point and expand on them.  Creating a safe environment for our students is a top priority for us as teachers and this includes helping them be safe on the internet.